Alkhair Capital Dubai launches $100 million fund to help hospitals with delayed claims payments

Alkhair Capital Dubai has launched the fund, with a target size of $100 million. What a “health liquidity fund” will do is help hospitals and clinics have faster access to the funds owed to them by insurers.

Then come delays in payment of claims submitted by healthcare providers. “Healthcare facilities face an average delay of 112 days in receiving 90 percent of their payments from insurance companies,” said Naveed Aurakzai, CEO of Alkhair Capital Dubai. “We launched this investment fund with the primary objective of addressing one of the most formidable challenges within the sector, which is estimated to encompass $100 billion in spending within the GCC.”

We are confident that Alkhair Healthcare Fund will play a pivotal role in addressing liquidity challenges and long working capital cycles, which hamper profitability and expansion of medical facilities.

– Naveed Aurakzai, CEO of Alkhair Capital Dubai

What the fund will do is acquire the accounts receivable that hospitals carry on their books and use technology (with the help of AI) to accelerate payments to healthcare companies.

With the accounts receivable (which will eventually be paid by insurers), the fund will have the underlying “asset” to offer investors the promised returns.

“Leveraging our AI-based insurance claim assessment technology, we aim to streamline and accelerate the claims process, facilitating timely payments to medical facilities,” said Karim Dakki, CEO of Klaim.

Post-Covid, healthcare investments in the UAE and the Gulf have had one of the fastest growth rates in history. The focus has been on adding super-specialty treatment options, while there has also been consolidation with some of the larger entities acquiring mid-sized or independent hospitals.

But throughout this growth, the problem of late payments remains an issue.

“The healthcare sector is experiencing remarkable growth, driven by the region’s growing elderly population, increasing life expectancy and an increase in lifestyle diseases,” Aurakzai said.

“This increase has created significant challenges, including insufficient infrastructure, increased medical claims settlements, and liquidity constraints due to extended working capital cycles.”

According to Alkhair Capital officials, the Fund offers investors an investment structure with “low volatility and income generation.” The Fund aims to “achieve an annual return of 6 to 12 percent.”